finally mustered up enough courage to post in this forum. tested positive for hiv on Feb 14th together with syphilis infection so it's a coinfection. got my 3 penicillin jabs but when i went to see my hiv doctor for the 1st time, he said he'll need to do a blood test to rule out the syphilis infection and if it's still there, he'll have to do a lumbar puncture, has anyone been thru that? my next syphilis test's on the 30th of April. had my first bloodtest yesterday, 9 vials of blood in total. now i'm just worried about my numbers since it's the first test. does a low CD4 count from the first test mean that i have to start meds straight away or will the doctor do another one to see the trend of the count? i believe i was infected in Oct/Nov'06. spoke with my medical social worker but she ain't of much help. where i am, Singapore, hiv meds are not subsidised by the government so if i need to start meds i will have to pay for them from my own pocket. and people who cant afford them are just left to die. i cant believe this is happening in my country and i seem to have lost hope in trying to battle this disease. there's only one hiv support group here and they're not much help either. i dont know where else i can find help but on this forum. gimme your 2 cents please
milker:
Hi singboi,
First of all, a warm Welcome to the forums :)
I can relate to you, I discovered I was positive around the same date, got syphilis with it too, got the 3 jabs in the butt (ouch), and got the same thing about lunbar puncture from my doctor, and I'm scared about that, if someone else can answer how this procedure works and how to avoid it being too painful I would appreciate.
I'll let others comment on CD4s and meds as I'm relatively new here. Good luck :)
Milker.
singboi:
milker- thanks for the reply, at least i know someone is going thru the same thing as me. let's hope things will turn out good for the both of us.
trelium-thanks for your private message, but somehow i can't seem to reply to you, something wrong with the link. is there any other way i can email you back? needa ask you a few questions.
villaboy1:
Hey
Ok Lumber Punctures - following a rough conversion I lost control of my legs and had other weird symptoms. To cut a long story short I ended up having a LP..
The worst thing to hear is people say its the worst experience of their lives. Well for me thats not true. Basically, a local anaesthetic will be injected in your back..you MUST relax as this really helps. You will be most likely be asked to roll into a foetal position on your side so that they can open up you spine to get the relevant liquids out. The LP will test for a number of things. Its so important to relax and take your mind to a beautiful beach or in bed with a great man..I had no pain from the initial LP.
It lasts about 15 minutes but honestly all I can say is dont tense up as this will make you even more anxious. I always tell myself these guys/girls are here to help me I will do everything I can to help them make it easier.
Anyway its important to lie on your back after for a couple of hours. My worst experience was post LP headaches.Tablets helped but then I did something really dumb and flew a couple of days later for work..The air pressure caused me to be very ill with shoulder aches and headaches and passing out. Again I ended up in hospital as these can also be symptoms of an infection so be aware although its very unlikely. When you get home lie on your back as much as possible and rest but you must also walk aroung to get the fluids moving again..
Drink water and dont FLY!!
villaboy1:
OH yeah - I also found out that its best not to look at the instruments - they are not bad and the quack (doctor) said that if you are slim then its so much easier as they can find the correct spot much better than if you are a little overweight..